There’s more meat to chew on in this one short speech than in many Speeches from the Throne. Harper says Canadians can expect to see his government introduce transformational change over the next few months, from the nation’s social programs, which he hints are not sustainable, to a complete overhaul of the immigration system.

He hints that we’re going to see a free trade deal with Europe within the year, and another one with India next year. (Organized labour groups are going to hate that — they seem to oppose all trade deals).

The Prime Minister says tough choices are going to have to be made — but he doesn’t say where. Immigration, however, is key to the nation’s long term survival. But it’s going to be revamped to meet Canada’s goals, rather than the goals of those who want entry to the country, as has been the case recently.

Canada’s aging demographics “constitute a threat to the social programs that Canadians cherish,” Harper says. That suggests he might even want to boost immigration — but with tougher rules. I think most Canadians could accept that.

Harper says he intends to revamp the parts of Canada’s retirement system outside the CPP which are not fully funded or sustainable. OAS? GIS? He doesn’t say. But he suggests he thinks the world economy is going to get worse before it gets better. “The problems . . . in my judgement, threaten to be even greater problems in the future.”

Why? Some governments are making the easy choices rather than the hard ones that lead to long-term prosperity, says Canada’s economist-in-chief.

One more thing: Harper says that prosperity is the nation’s number one goal. Sustainable prosperity.

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The Jesus flag is not welcome at city hall. Councillors agreed Monday night with a report from city administration to deny a request to fly a flag in support of the annual March for Jesus scheduled for Aug. 22.